Russia is using Myanmar’s pipeline to deliver oil to a refinery in China’s Yunnan province, according to a report in Energy Intelligence on 17 April.

Russia has been seeking new and expanded markets for its crude oil since the European Union imposed an embargo on Russian crude in December in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, a conflict now into its second year, according to news agency reports.

Russia has reportedly been supplying oil to Myanmar since September last year.

Myanmar has maintained friendly ties with Russia, even as both remain under sanctions from Western countries.

This latest report from Energy Intelligence says Myanmar’s Kyaukphyu port data shows shipment of Russian oil to China since February 2023, now running at 3 million barrels a month or 70,000 barrels a day.

The Myanmar-China pipeline opened in 2017 as part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) with the aim of reducing China's dependence on the Malacca Strait route.

Security of the pipeline has been an issue for the Myanmar junta that grabbed power in a coup in February 2021. But there appears to be an unwritten agreement that Myanmar resistance forces will not attack the 770-kilometer pipeline that is so important to China.

Beijing appears to have strengthened ties to the illegal Myanmar junta largely to protect its Belt and Road Infrastructure (BRI), investments, and mines in the country. It is unclear whether Beijing is maintaining back-door communication with the National Unity Government (NUG) – an opposition or resistance body partly made up of remnants of the National League for Democracy-led government under Aung San Suu Kyi who during their tenure had a robust relationship with China.